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Microbe Profile: Acinetobacter baumannii: persist and resist

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Acinetobacter baumannii is a Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen associated with a wide variety of healthcare-associated infections, including ventilator-associated pneumonia, urinary tract infections, bacteraemia and wound infections. It adopts a ‘persist and resist’ pathogenic strategy to establish infection in the host. It can form robust biofilms and survive in a desiccated state for months at a time, driving its persistence in the hospital-built environment. It also has a remarkable capacity to rapidly develop antimicrobial resistance, with >90% of contemporary clinical isolates being multidrug-resistant. This combination of pathogenic traits has caused A. baumannii to emerge as a major clinical challenge.

Source: Microbiology

DOI: 10.1099/mic.0.001787

Authors: Rubén de Dios, Ronan R. McCarthy

Institution: University of Southampton

Language: English

Topic: Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria

Subfield: Molecular Medicine

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: diamond

Funders: Wessex Medical Research, Directorate for Biological Sciences, Medical Research Council